Search This Blog

Monday, May 13, 2013

It’s a
Girl is a powerful documentary about the slaughter of female babies and
children, especially in countries like China
and India.

Before I even saw the film, the title had me
unhinged, perplexed and outraged. I knew
it would be tough to watch the reality of girls being killed, aborted and
abandoned simply because they are girls.
As a girl and mother of a girl, I braced myself for the information about
to be shared with me. This is what I
learned.

What is gendercide?
Aborting a baby based on gender.

What is female foeticide?
Aborting a baby strictly on the fact she is a girl.

What is infanticide? The
act of killing a newborn infant.

Many women in India live in extreme poverty,
governed by patriarchal societies where large dowries are paid to men by the
bride’s family when they marry. Many
families cannot afford to have a daughter as the dowry custom can sometimes
take almost half the bride’s family’s assets.
Since the people are already so poor, losing half of your household can
be devastating (and imagine if you had multiple daughters). Daughters are looked at as burden’s, many
neglected and when they leave their home to marry, many are treated as
property; abused by their own husbands.
The option for many India
women is to abort or even kill their newborn daughters right after delivery
(since most deliver in their homes).
Girls who survive their birth are often times neglected and abused, even
sold into sex trafficking. In contrast, the birth of a son is highly
celebrated, as the family now has someone who will carry on the family name,
take jobs for the family and live with the parents when he is grown and married. A son will also collect a dowry when he
marries and share the wealth with his parents.

Over 200 million baby girls in China
have been killed (that’s bigger than the U.S. population) and there are
about 40 million abortions a year or 40 every day. In 1979 communist China enacted the one child policy
meaning families have to apply for a birth permit in order to have the legal
right to conceive. Century-old
traditions support preference of sons over daughters because boys take on the
role to care for the parents in their old age and/or because only sons may
inherit land when parent’s die. Perhaps
a family’s livelihood requires hard physical labor only a male offspring can
endure. If a mother conceives a
daughter, most times the girl will be aborted so the mother can try again for a
son. In China, communist family planning
government officials force a woman who has already had one child to have an
abortion, even if it is against her will (unless she can pay a large fine which
most people don’t have). Pregnant women
hide in their homes or move to outlining villages to escape, but there is a
reward for those who report a woman who is illegally pregnant. Perhaps you've heard of the case of the
forced abortion of Feng Jianmei, which gained national headlines because the
brutality of her infant daughter’s death was actually captured on photograph.

Whether you are pro-life or pro-choice you should see this
film. This is a women’s issue. It’s A
Girl isn’t about statistics or politics.
It’s about the cost to society. In
addition, the surplus of men has increased the sex trade and even the stealing
of girl babies and children because with fewer girls, there are million of men
who will never marry.

If I was suffering in such a way, I would hope my sisters
around the world would stand up and help me against such violence and
inequality. Every woman should be
entitled to her reproductive rights.

After seeing this film, I felt overwhelmed. I couldn't wait to get home and hold my daughter, but it was more then that. I wondered what can I do? The enormity of suffering leaves one
hopeless, I mean really, how can I help the mothers and little girls, let alone
the death of 200 million little sisters who have already lost their fight? Before the film, I said a prayer that those of
us in attendance would find hope amidst the despair; that even with the horror
there would be a glimmer of hope. I am
going to be praying every day for inspiration on what I can do to make a
difference.

1 comment:

I hope you were able to feel some hope. I really appreciated the discussion after the film. I have a blogpost in the works and I'd like to organize a day of fasting and prayer for these mothers and babies. I'll keep you posted.

What is My Dear Trash?

After I was sexually abused, I felt like trash. Through God's love, I was able to find my worth again. My Dear Trash is about finding value where others may not see it, in ourselves, in our world, in our unborn and in our relationships and with God.

View the book trailer for my memoir Starving Girl by clicking on the image below.